


Lightning Game

by SummerStormFlower



Category: Fairy Tail
Genre: F/F, Laxus and Freed were always meant to be, Natsu and Cana friendship, Natsu is a moron but he makes a good point (sometimes), Teenage Laxus is nice to little Freed, They’re all kids, Thunderstorms, Thunderstorms aren’t so scary after all, friendships, lightning storms
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-15
Updated: 2019-07-15
Packaged: 2020-06-28 11:33:47
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,320
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19811446
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/SummerStormFlower/pseuds/SummerStormFlower
Summary: Cana is afraid of storms, and a particular violent one has fallen over Magnolia. However, Natsu teaches her a game that Igneel taught him, and helps her get over her fear.





	Lightning Game

A bolt of lightning struck, lighting up the whole sky, and with it came a horribly loud boom of thunder. The lights in the guild hall flickered a few times, but didn’t go out yet.

Cana was sitting under the table, curled in on herself, and trembling. She’d hated thunderstorms for as long as she could remember. They were scary, and loud, and Cana was convinced this one was going to destroy the world. 

That’s what Henry from the orphanage had told her. And Henry was older than her, so of course he knew!

“Cana,” Gray said gently, kneeling in front of her, “What are you doing under there?”

Cana sniffled, “The world is gonna be destroyed, so I’m hiding.”

Gray sighed. “For the last time, Cana, the world is not going to be destroyed.” And even if it was, he didn’t see how hiding under a table was going to protect her. “Henry is a bully and a liar. The storm is harmless. We’re gonna be okay.”

At that moment, a burst of thunder even louder than the last rang across the land.

Cana shrieked, slapping her hands over her ears in futile attempt to block out the sound. She started sobbing, uncontrollable tears rolling down her cheeks, and Gray frowned sympathetically at her.

“Honestly,” grunted Laxus, leaning against the counter, “This Henry kid needs to be disciplined.”

Makarov gulped down his entire beer and slammed his empty cup beside him. “I agree!” he said with a grin, face flushed and balance faltering. It was a good thing he was sitting.

“When you’re not drunk, you should go scold that kid,” Laxus told his grandpa.

“I will,” said Makarov, “but after the unicorns are done dancing.”

Laxus arched an eyebrow, and turned to look at where the old man’s gaze was glued. 

Ezra was washing off the evil-looking unicorns Mira had painted on the wall to get on her nerves. She’d managed to ignore them for a week, until she had just about gone crazy. Unless the unicorns were exactly parallel to each other, they didn’t belong there!

Laxus rolled his eyes.

“The world is gonna end!” Cana cried wetly, nearly choking on the hiccups and coughs wracking her chest.

“The world is NOT gonna end!” Gray shouted irritably.

Laxus rubbed the bridge of his nose, groaning. Damn kids.

“Laxus?”

There was a soft tug on the bottom of his shirt. Laxus looked down, his annoyance immediately fading away when he saw Freed.

“Is the world really gonna end?” the green-haired child asked, shoulders tense, and eyes wide with worry.

Laxus’ expression softened. For a reason he couldn’t figure out, Freed always made him feel soft. He bent down and picked Freed up, propping the small boy on his hip. He looked into Freed’s eyes, and spoke, “The world is much too big for such a tiny storm to destroy.”

Some of the worry dissipated from Freed, but fear still griped his heart. “What if the storm puts a dent in the world?” he asked, clinging to Laxus’ shirt.

Laxus shook his head. “It won’t.”

Freed frowned uncertainly. “You promise?”

“I promise,” Laxus replied seriously.

Freed held out his pinky expectantly, and Laxus smiled, wrapping his finger around Freed’s tiny finger.

“Cana, c’mon,” Gray pleaded, crawling under the table to sit beside the girl, and putting a hand on her shoulder, “Please stop crying.”

Cana hiccuped, “I can’t!”

“Why are you afraid of thunderstorms, Cana?” Natsu suddenly asked.

The pink-haired boy crawled under the table, sitting on Cana’s other side, and placing his hand on her left shoulder.

He and Gray shared a meaningful look. One of their comrades was sad, and now was not the time to get into a fight. Cana needed their support, so they would put their differences aside for now.

Cana wiped her eyes, sniffling.

“If it’s because of that Harry, I’ll go kick his butt for you!”

“It’s Henry.”

“Whatever!”

“I don’t know why I’m scared of them,” Cana started, trying to swallow the lump in her throat that meant more tears, “They’re just scary.”

She’d spent countless nights flinching at every blinding flash of light and ear-piercing boom with no one to huddle with. It was as though the storm was there to remind her of how alone and insignificant she truly was.

“Want to play a game?” Natsu then asked. “It’ll make things less scary,” he promised with a smile.

Cana sniffled and wiped her tears again. “Okay,” she responded.

“What...kind of game is it?” Gray asked.

“Don’t worry, you can play too,” Natsu reassured.

Gray’s cheeks turned a shy pink.

“Come on,” Natsu said, crawling out from under the table.

Gray followed after him, and after some hesitation, Cana did too.

“Igneel taught me this game,” Natsu explained, as he sat down in front of the window. “It works like this—you guess when the lightning is going strike, and if you guess right, you win! But if you guess wrong, you lose.”

“That’s pretty simple,” said Gray.

“Yeah, but it’s really fun!” Natsu said. “Think you can do it Cana?”

Cana gulped. “I’ll try.”

Natsu went first to show the other two how to play. He counted out loud, and much to Gray and Cana’s surprise, blurted “Now!” at just the right time. His laughter and the thunder blended in together, and the sound of his familiar laugh made Cana feel a little better.

Gray went next, pouting when nothing happened when he shouted, and jumping in surprise—much to Natsu’s entertainment—when the thunder boomed two seconds later.

When it was Cana’s turn, she was nervous, and her voice was squeaky. She flinched when she guessed right, but Natsu and Gray’s cheers eased the tension out of her.

They played again and again, and slowly Cana stopped flinching when she guessed right. In fact, she began to cheer with Natsu and Gray. 

Happiness filled her heart. She felt like she’d just stood up and confidently yelled at every storm that’d ever made her feel lonely, “I’m not alone! Look, I have friends who love me!”

Eventually, Ezra and Freed, and even Laxus and Mira joined the game.

Cana didn’t even notice when the power went out, too busy having fun with her guild mates.   
_________________________________

With a beer in hand and a barrel under her other arm, Cana slid next to Lucy at the booth, and pressed a kiss to her cheek.

“What’s up, babe? As cute as you are when you’re daydreaming, you really look out of it.”

“Could you not flirt in front of us?” Laxus asked. He was sitting across from them with his arm wrapped around Freed, who was peppering his neck with kisses. 

Freed was clingy and didn’t give a damn about what people thought he was drunk. It was a stark contrast from his uptight and composed personality.

“Like you’re one to talk,” Cana said with a smirk. 

Freed was undoing the buttons on Laxus’ shirt. 

Laxus blushed. He threw a glare Cana’s way, then scooped Freed up in his arms, and left the booth. 

Cana had a good idea of where they were going.

There was a rumble of thunder then, and Cana noticed Lucy wince.

“Hey,” she said, poking Lucy’s cheek, “What’s wrong?”

“Huh? Oh, nothing. Just lost in thought.” Lucy smiled at her, but Cana could tell it was clearly fake. 

There was a bright flash in the window, and Lucy tensed again.

Suddenly, Cana knew what was wrong.

She chugged down the last of her drink, then took Lucy’s hand and intertwined their fingers. She loved the feel of Lucy’s hand in hers; it never ceased to amaze her by how right it felt.

“Wanna play a game?”

Lucy looked at her, and flushed when she saw the love in Cana’s eyes.

Cana smiled. 

Lucy’s heart did a cartwheel, and she couldn’t stop thinking about Cana’s lips.

**Author's Note:**

> I had a huge thunderstorm last night, and it made me think of this. Seriously, it was EPIC.


End file.
